The annual climate change summit in 2023 took place in Dubai, UAE. Negotiators from all around the world assembled to discuss the implementation of the Paris Agreement, undertaking the first ever global stocktake of progress towards meeting these goals. Ecologic Institute attended the talks with a delegation of four colleagues, joining delegations from member countries of the UNFCCC, climate scientists, business leaders, youth actors, journalists and civil society working on climate change.

The conference concluded on 13 December 2023 with inter alia the adoption of a joint decision on the Global Stocktake, which includes the call to triple renewable energy capacity globally by 2030 and a transition “away from fossil fuels (…) to achieve net zero by 2050”.

Dr. Ralph Bodle and Arne Riedel of Ecologic Legal participated in the COP28 climate negotiations as members of the delegation of Germany, advising the German government and relevant coordination groups of the European Union delegations within the context of several key negotiating topics. During the UN climate negotiations, Ralph Bodle deals with legal aspects of climate finance, Arne Riedel covers and coordinated a range of crosscutting topics.

In preparation for COP28, Ecologic Institute’s Senior Policy Adviser Anthony Cox analysed options for advancements on food systems and agriculture at the climate summit in a policy brief titled "Food, Agriculture and Climate at COP28 – and beyond". The brief addressed the UAE Presidency's focus on the Food Systems and Agriculture Agenda. It highlighted priority areas where governments can modernise food and agricultural policy, particularly with respect to agricultural subsidies and the role of private sector collaboration.

Ecologic Institute also contributed to the negotiations by organising a side event on innovative policies for climate neutrality. In this event, Matthias Duwe and Jonathan Gardiner presented research findings from the EU funded Horizon project 4i-TRACTION. They discussed the EU experience with interested experts from different parts of the globe, and the applicability of the policies in question to advance the transition to climate neutrality, specifically in industry.